Capitol Children
by livesindream
Summary: Story of a Capitol girl realizing that the Hunger Games aren't the entertainment that her parents make them out to be. Takes place during reaping for 74th Hunger Games, some characters are given names by me. Please R&R, negative feedback too
1. Reaping

**A/N: **I only meant this to be a oneshot, but based on your reviews, I may extend it. Also, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR REVIEWS! I never expected to get this many! Love you all!

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN THE HUNGER GAMES!

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Every year, two children from the districts are chosen to be televised in a fight to the death. Ever since I was little, it was tradition to hold a huge party on each of the nights the Games went on. My parents would spend thousands and thousands of dollars on food, entertainment and costumes to wear. Every year, I would watch with glee as the children met their various bloody deaths. Laugh as they were speared, shot, blown to pieces. Cry when my favorites died, then promptly forget about them. It was like a book, where you liked the characters were nice, but not real. That all ended this year. The day of my twelfth birthday was the day when the reapings were shown. My parent's important friends, all of the Capitol's most influential citizens, even President Snow was there. In the Capitol, twelve is an very important birthday. When you turn twelve, you get your citizen papers, making you an official member of the Capitol.

The night of my party, I was in my room, curling my bubble-gum pink hair into perfect ringlets. I had dyed my eyes a brilliant blue for the occasion, and lined them in a silver pen. My mom had even let me get a tattoo. It was of silver vines twisting up and down my arms, with golden leaves that changed with the seasons. The Avox maid had set out my birthday dress: a lilac gown that had fairy wings sewn to the back. My daddy said that when I wore it, I looked like a princess.

"Aurelia!" My mom called. "District One Reaping is about to begin!"

"Coming mom!" I hastily changed into my dress, and floated into my dining room, which was packed with people, all watching the Reaping on the huge TV that took up most of the wall. I found a place to sit, and focused on the television. The District One escort, a short plump woman with blue spiked hair was calling the names of the Tributes.

"...Glimmer Lee!" A beautiful girl with long blonde hair, pale skin and sparkling green walked up, smiling and waving.

"And... our male tribute... Marvel Turner!" A somewhat mean looking boy swaggered up to the stage, grinning at the cameras. "That's it for District One! Now, a word from our sponsors!"

Behind me, the adults were whispering, placing bets on the Tributes. The program came back on, and the whole room fell silent again. For District Two, a cruel-looking girl called Clove with thick brown hair and dull green eyes and an even crueler-looking boy called Cato were called. The tributes from 3 and 4 sped by. I remember one was called Calla, another Rowan. Their faces blurred together, all becoming the same. I remember a red-headed girl from 5, called something like Eve. A bunch of children from 6, 7, and 8 that looked as if they had no chance of winning what so ever. 9 had an interesting Reaping. The girl tribute, a slender brunette called Sophie tried to run away when her name was called, but the Peace Keepers caught her. She was screaming and crying, but no one volunteered as Tribute for her. My father was laughing at her desperate cries, mocking her. I giggled to myself. Sophie seemed to be the sort to try to kill herself in training. That could be interesting. The boy tribute simply walked up, and didn't give us any sort of show, which was disappointing. 10's tributes looked as if they'd last half a minute in the arena.

"Welcome to District Eleven's Reaping!" A man with silky green hair spoke into the microphone.

"We'll go with ladies first.. no?" He reached into the large glass bowl and made a show of fishing around in it. He nearly pulled out a name, then shook his head and put it back.

"Aha! Here we are!" He had a small slip of paper in his hand, and triumphantly read it.

"Rue Fields!"

No one came up.

"Rue Fields?"

Finally, a girl walked slowly up. She was pretty, with waist long black hair, and skin the color of coffee. But, it wasn't until she had reached the stage that I realized something. She looked my age.

"Ahh.. Miss Fields.. good day."

The girl nodded.

"Now, today is a very special day, isn't it?"

The girl, Rue, looked confused.

"It's your birthday, isn't it?"

Rue nodded.

"How old are you turning?"

Rue finally spoke, her voice a pretty musical whisper. "Twelve."

All around me, the grown up were laughing at her, joking about how long she'd last. But, I couldn't hear them. All I could here was Rue's whisper. Twelve.

"Mom?" I whispered

"Yes, sweetie?"

"That girl, Rue..."

My mom laughed.

"She'll last.. oh, 10 minutes."

Suddenly, I stood.

"Mommy. I don't feel good. Can I go to bed?"

My mother nodded, still laughing over Rue's fate.

I ran to my room and tore off the fairy dress, and pulled out my money and cell phone. Shaking, I dialed the number for potential sponsors. How, HOW could my home do this to children? I had to help her. I had to.

"Hello?"

"Yes, my name is Aurelia, and I'd like to sponsor a tribute."

"Who?"

"The little one. Rue."


	2. Realizations

A/N: I DO NOT OWN THE HUNGER GAMES! I do, however, own Aurelia, Tessa, and any other characters I made up!

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The next morning, I woke up to find a few drunken adults passed out on my floor. With disgust, I tiptoed around them and walked into my closet. My closet is about the same size as my bedroom, and filled with dresses, and shoes, skirts and blouses. Every color of the rainbow was represented in it, from crimson to lilac, amber to coral. Usually, I just threw on the first dress I saw, not really caring what it was. But, today, I looked around, really looked around. I had so much. So much. And, for the first time, I realized that the Districts didn't. They didn't live like me. So, today, instead of putting on my usual jewel colored dress, rainbow tights and pastel sweater, I put on a dull brown skirt that I think I wore to a funeral a couple years ago, and a white button down shirt that I used as a costume in a play about the districts last month. Plain shoes were harder to find. Most of my shoes were bright pink, with glitter curling around the edges, or ballet shoes that had ribbons that laced up my legs. Finally after nearly a half hour of searching, I found a pair of black boots that I played outside in when I was younger. Thankfully, they still fit.

Walking out of my closet, I saw my Avox maid making my bed.

"Good morning!" I chirped. The girl looked ridiculously surprised, and she stopped making my bed. I had never said a word to her before, except orders. She curtsied and looked at me strangely. With a jolt, I realized that I didn't know her name, didn't know where she lived, and didn't know anything about her.

"What's your name?" I asked curiously.

She shook her head and motioned to her mouth.

_Stupid me. _I thought_. She can't talk. _

"Okay… can you write it down?"

The girl smiled slightly and motioned for a piece of paper. I hastily pulled one from my shiny mahogany desk, and handed it to her. In shaky, crooked letters, she carefully printed five letters.

T-E-S-S-A

"That's pretty!" I exclaimed. She gave me a shy grin.

"How old are you Tessa?" Below her name, she wrote 15.

Fifteen. She's only three years older than me. When I'm fifteen, I'll be dressed up in pretty dresses, dancing at balls, flirting and living the life of a princess while she's making beds.

I was about to ask her where she was from, but my mom called me from the living room.

"Aurelia! Time for school!" Tessa's face lost all of its emotion and returned to the neutral expression that I was used to.

"Bye." I whispered. She gave me a slight nod.

I ran through the long corridors, past rooms filled with beautiful furniture, silk curtains that my dad said cost more than the average District worker makes in a year and plush wall to wall carpeting until I reached our main living room. There were still a couple drunk party go-ers draped on the couch, asleep on the floor, and making as much fuss as possible. They were ordering the Avoxs around, asking for more (_more?)_ alcohol. I was about to leave to walk to school, when my mother said my name again.

"Aurelia?" she said, sounding slightly angry.

_Oh no._ I thought. _I'm in trouble. What did I do? _

"Aurelia. Why are you wearing that? You look like… like… a district girl." She said, her voice laced with disgust.

"Oh… erm… well…" I stammered. "It's…the anniversary of Candria's death."

Candria was a girl who was in my year, a nasty, cruel girl. She died last year in a hovercraft crash. Her family was taking a tour of the previous year's Arena when the craft malfunctioned, killing everyone inside. The thing is, Candria died in fall. It's early summer now. I was just hoping my mother didn't remember that.

"Oh, that's sweet of you dear." She says absently, and continues to watch some singing competition on television. I let out my breath, without realizing I was holding it.

"Good bye Mom, I'm going to school."

"Aurelia, do you want to take Dad's mini-craft?"

"No. I'll walk."

Before she can insist on the mini-craft, I escape out into the brightly lit Capitol. The sky is a chemically enhanced blue, the grass a lime green that hurts your eyes if you look to long at it. The people are all dressed in jewel tones, emerald and ruby, amethyst and sapphire. The latest fashion is to have you skin colored to match the color of your eyes' dye, so people are walking around with blue, green, purple, orange skin. I look out of place with my olive skin that my parents forbid me to enhance in any way and plain clothes. The only thing that marks me as belonging is my limp pink curls, electric blue eyes and curling silver tattoos. With confusion, I realized that I didn't want to fit in with these people. I had never felt anything like that before. Just yesterday, I was begging my mom and dad to dye my skin the brilliant blue that matched my eyes.


	3. Trains

**A/N:** I'm very sorry that this is so short, I'm very bust, as I have three active stories at the same time, not to mention school work! Please give me your honest opinion of my writing, it is greatly appreciated! Thank you for all your reviews, they make my day! So, thanks to: emilymasonxo, Alex Rashid, redwaves9, IWriteStuffWithWordsInIt, Fellinlovetoday, Miss Unaprochable, and EmmaRizcool! Love you all, please keep reviewing!

_Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games, however, I do own the characters Aurelia, Salus, Venita, Sophie, Tessa and any other! _

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School that day was awful. Awful. Salus and Venita, my two best friends, who usually made me laugh, just seemed… flat today. All they could talk about was the Reaping last night. Salus thought the girl, Sophie, from Nine was funny, and for all of morning break, she mocked the girl's desperate screams. I pretended to laugh along with Venita, but when Salus started to mimic Rue, imitate her pretty singsong way of talking, I stopped laughing.

"Aurelia! Why aren't you laughing?" Venita whined, her pretty face screwed up in an ugly pout.

"I… I feel ill." I whispered as an answer. In fact, I did feel ill. Ill that my friends would laugh about this, laugh like it's all just a game. Then, I realized it was just a game to them. And, it was just a game to me until yesterday. Until Rue.

Rue. I checked my watch for the millionth time since I got to class. My teacher had told us that tributes from 10, 11, and 12 would be arriving at 2:30. It was 2:15. I had to go, had to see Rue. But, to do that, I would have to ditch class.

"Salus, Venita, I feel sick. I'm going home." My voice was firm, and loud, and (to me at least,) completely unbelievable. To my surprise, Venita nodded, and resumed her animated talk with Salus about the latest eye-jewels and how she needed to have them. Shaking my head in disbelief, I walked out of the schoolyard, down the lush walkway and into the bustling city. _That was… easy._ I thought, smiling slightly.

I hurried down the road to the train station where I knew they would arrive. Gasping slightly, I arrived with ten seconds to spare. The train came roaring in, blowing people's hats off, tangling their perfect hair, and pushing them away from the tracks. First came the District 10 tributes, a pair of teenagers who looked like they had never seen a proper meal in their lives. Their train was long, and took nearly twenty minutes to pass. Then-then there was District 11. I saw the boy, tall, dark and strong. He was standing right in front of the huge window, looking with indifference out over the screaming crowd. I strained my eyes to see Rue. Finally, I saw her. She was standing behind Thresh, her bright, intelligent eyes looking out. I was struck by how much she looked like me. Same olive skin, same age, and when my hair wasn't bright pink, it would only be a couple shades lighter than hers. She seemed to be looking at the people, and I swear that for one minute, our eyes met. Her calm brown eyes met my dyed, blue ones, and she held the connection for a minute. I finally broke away, ashamed for her to see my Capitol eyes, my Capitol hair.

That evening, I hid in my room for hours, writing a letter.

_Dear Rue, _

_Hello. My name is Aurelia. Like you, my birthday was yesterday, and like you I turned twelve. But, I am safe. I always will be. I will never have to face things like you have, hunger and poverty. I apologize. I apologize for having… everything. I'm sorry Rue. _

_Aurelia. _

I know that my letter will never reach her, but writing it made me feel better for a minute. My mom was worried about me, hiding in my room. But, I wasn't hiding. I was saving a life.

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**A/N:** Review please! I'm still trying to find my style, and it helps when you say what you like and dislike!


	4. Alonia

**A/N:** Sorry for the late update, I was busier over the last while than I thought I'd be. I hope you like this chapter.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own The Hunger Games, Rue, or President Snow. I do own Tessa, Aurelia, Alonia, William, and Elizabeth (and any other original characters.. I suppose Alonia isn't exactly original, but her personality is my own!)

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I woke up the next day, my face pressed on my desk with the letter to Rue crumpled in my hand. Tessa was standing there, her eyes filled with worry. Then, her eyes caught on the paper in my hand, and with a swift movement, she plucked it out of my hand and began to read it. Her big brown eyes filled with tears as she placed it down gently on the table.

"What? What is it?" I asked, pulling a sheet of paper out of my desk for her to write on.

_I've never met a Capitol girl who cared so much. In fact, _she wrote, _the last house I was in had this one girl, Corinna, who decided that every time a tribute was killed, she would use her father's knives to cut one of the Avoxs. Then, there was boy, Viator, who would throw death-day parties for each of the dead tributes. There would be celebrations with food, drink, and long reenactments of their deaths_.

I felt sick to my stomach. "Tessa?" I asked hesitantly. "How… how did you get here?"

She looked sad for a minute, and then resumed writing.

_I was from district 6, where the Peacekeepers are very strict about everything. You see, my parents had died when I was eight, and I was left to take care of my little brother and sister, William and Elizabeth, who were twins. They were only 4. I went to work to try and bring in money, but there isn't much that an eight-year-old girl can do in a district where the labor to be done involves heavy machinery. So, I had to start sneaking out at night to hunt. I would only catch little things, like squirrels at first, but then I discovered that if I stole pieces of metal that were used for making cars, I could make these trap things. Then, one day, I managed to catch a wild dog, and in my happiness, I forgot to check for Peacekeepers. They caught me lugging it through town, with William and Elizabeth at my heels. The head Peacekeeper took away the dog, and William and Elizabeth. I never saw them again. Then, the Peacekeepers took me, and shoved me in a hovercraft. I don't remember anything until I was dropped off at a house, and ordered to work. When I tried to talk, that's when I realized that I had lost my tongue. And, that's my story. _

I gazed in utter amazement at Tessa. Did all the Avoxs have a story like this? A thought struck me suddenly, and I glanced down at the paper for a second.

"Wait…Tessa? You became an Avox when you were 8?" She nodded, and looked as if she was going to tell me more, but just then, a little girl with golden blonde hair and pale paper-like skin bursts into my room. It's Alonia Snow, the President's granddaughter. Alonia is only six, and because her grandfather is always too busy to take care of her, she spends a lot of time at my house. She's a sweetheart; always smiling and helping the Avoxs clean up. In fact, she's one of the nicest girls I know.

"Aurelia?" She asked. "Will you come with me to the training center? Baba is there, and he promised to play with me today."

"Sure Loni," I said, and we started the walk to Training Center, where every Tribute since the 1st Hunger Games had stayed. Every tribute… Rue.

"Loni? Are you able to…to meet the tributes?"

Her pale blue eyes looked up at me with confusion.

"Yeah. Sometimes Baba lets me… why?"

I felt a thrill of excitement. Maybe, maybe I could meet Rue. Actually meet her.

"But… this year I'm not allowed to. My mommy told me that District kids are a bad influence, and Baba has to listen to her."

The thrill of excitement died as quickly as it had come.

"Oh." I whispered, disappointed.

We continued our walk to the Center, beside rows and rows of pastel homes, pinks and blues, until we reach the heavy metal doors of the Center. Just as we're about to go in, a guard stops us.

"Password?" He barks, scaring me.

Alonia just smiles and says in her high voice, "Circenses." The guard opens the door and stands aside. "Welcome Miss Snow. And…" He looked at me, obviously searching for a last name.

"Lane. Aurelia Lane."

"Welcome Miss Lane. Enjoy your visit."

Loni and I walked out of the bright sunlight and into the cool, metallic-smelling air of the Training Center.

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**A/N:** In case you couldn't tell, Baba is President Snow, that's what Loni calls him... :D


	5. Tricks and Sneaks

**A/N:** I'm sorry this one is so short... I wasn't sure where to end it! :P

Oh, and I've put my name somewhere in this story... if you can find it, leave a review and your name and I will write you in as a minor character! (It's not necessarily in this chapter.. it may be... but it may not be!)

Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games!

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The training center is dimly lit, with huge photos of previous Victors on the walls. Exactly seventy-three of them. While Loni is chattering away with the woman sitting at the front desk, I wander over to look at the Victors. The girl who won the first Hunger Games is closest to me. Her ice-blue eyes are fierce, and her blonde hair is braided and weaved in a crown on her head. A silver battle-axe is strapped to her back, making her look intimidating and deadly. Below the photograph, her name is printed in golden letters. _Siv Eriksson, Age 16, District 7. _Turning around, I see another face, this one of the boy who won the 19th Hunger Games. He's small and weak looking, with big doe-eyes looking out of a narrow, thin face. I would have expected him to die quickly, if it was not for the dangerous glint in his eyes. _Sohrab Fathi, Age 13, District 11._ Nest to him, a slender girl with silver eyes. _Nina Peters, Age 15, District 9._ Slowly, the interest I had in these photos faded, replaced with disgust. I walked quickly along the rows and rows of names and photos, trying not to look at any, but failing miserably. I caught glimpses of people. Red hair, chewed nails, green eyes, District 3. Brown pigtails, scared eyes, hollow cheeks, Age 14. Blonde curls, violet eyes, District 1. And names. Terry and Lace, Pattie and Almond, Sam and Caramel, Annie and Laura, Katie and Josiah. I run from the hall of Victors, leaving Loni behind. I run until I find a worn down wooden door.

It was labeled "Tribute Entrance."

The sickness that had filled my stomach disappeared, replaced with a stab of excitement.

"Miss Fields! Miss Fields! Miss Fields, I am talking to you! MISS FIELDS! Turn around right now!" Confused, I turned around.

A harried Escort is standing there, eyes angry. "Miss Fields. I have been looking for you for nearly an hour. Please return to your room."

"Me?" I whisper. If this idiot thinks I'm Rue… I could get inside.

"No… the other girl named Rue Fields standing in this hallway. Yes, you! Go upstairs. And… Rue? Your hair looks nice. Doesn't it feel good to get rid of your District look?"

I nod, afraid my slight Capitol accent will give me away. The Escort pulls open the door and pushes me through it, and into a large room with three elevators.

"Just go up to your room, and prepare for training. It starts in three hours."

Nodding again, I duck into the elevator. Damn. Which floor…which floor? I think desperately. Eleven. That has to be it. One floor per district. I stab the button with my finger, praying it's right.

"Wait! Hold the elevator!" Someone shouts, sprinting across the room.

_Damn, damn, damn_ I think, pushing the elevator button harder. Too late. The girl slips in, a pretty smile on her face. When she sees my hair, her smile fades. I look up at her, my brown eyes still slightly tinged with the blue of the dye.

"Who are you?" She breathes. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm Aurelia. Please don't turn me in."

The girl grins and curtsies. "Hanna, District 3. Pleased to make your acquaintance. What, exactly are you doing here?"

I take a shaky breath and answer. "I'm… looking for someone."

Hanna's eyes light up. "Then, I'll help you. Who?"

"Rue."

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A/N: Remember.. If you can find my name.. I'll write you in as a minor character (like a tribute or a Capitol schoolchild)


	6. Clove

The elevator takes us up to the second floor then shudders to a halt.

"Damn it!" Hanna exclaims, and kicks the side of the elevator. The lights go out. "Damn, damn, damn." She mutters.

"We're sorry." An automated voice comes over the speakers, "The elevator has seemed to stop working. We ask that you remain calm and exit the elevator in an orderly fashion."

The doors slide open, and we walk out into a hall with white-washed walls.

"All right. The stupid elevators never work. Based off the last time they broke, the stairs to my floor…are….are…"

Hanna turns around, and looks confused. "Umm…there." She points down a hall.

"You sure?"

She nods. "Yes… I mean… yeah. I guess so."

Within a couple minutes of walking, I realize that we're going in the wrong direction. I can hear a girl sobbing, as if someone had just killed her family.

"Oh shit. Shit." Hanna muttered. "Turn around…wrong way. Wrong way."

Hanna spun on her heel, and quickly started walking in the other way. I jog along side her, in silence until we reach the elevator area again.

"Who was crying? Who was that?"

Hanna looks sad for a minute. "Clove. Clove Ayto. She's a really fierce, brave warrior. But, every night, when we're all going to sleep, I can hear her crying. Her room is right below mine. I guess she cries when she doesn't think anyone is around. She's only fourteen."

I was surprised. "Hanna. I thought the Careers wanted to be here. Anyways, didn't Clove volunteer?"

"Yeah." Hanna whispered. "But, I guess, once you get to the bottom of it, we're all just kids. Just scared, little kids." She looks sad again, her dark blue eyes sparkling with tears.

"But that doesn't matter right now. What does matter is helping you find…"

"Find who?" A high, clear voice asked.

I spun around. It was a girl, wearing a light blue training shirt and black pants. "Find who? Answer me!"

"Oh… hi Clove." Hanna muttered. "Umm… Rue and I are just looking for… looking for…Thresh."

The girl, Clove, I suppose, smirked. "That's not Rue. That's an imposter."

Hanna looked frantic. "Ummm…."

Clove smirked, but I could see that her eyes were red and puffy. "Do you want me to call the guards?" She hissed.

Hanna started backing up. "Please Clove. Please? Just let us go see Rue?"

Clove bit her lip, and then, I saw what Hanna meant by all the Tributes just being children. When I was watching television, watching Clove's Reaping, she seemed fearless, brave and heartless. Now, she just seemed like a kid.

"Fine." She whispered. "Fine. But, I didn't see you. I didn't talk to you. This never happened."

Hanna smiled, and just turned around. "Come on!" She said, dragging me by the hand. I caught one last look of Clove, standing in the middle of the corridor, looking lonelier than anyone I had ever seen.

"Bye Clove." I whispered.

For a minute, I thought she heard me, and was going to say something. Then, she just shook her head, and walked away from me and Hanna, back towards her room.


End file.
